SEC Freezes Trading Of 26 Microcap Securities

Law360, New York (March 14, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading Thursday in shares of 26 companies that the agency said appear to have stolen the identities of defunct or inactive corporations, a practice known as “corporate hijacking.”

The action is part of the SEC's increased efforts to combat fraud involving microcap securities, most of which are not traded on the major exchanges. The suspensions were the first action taken by the recently formed microcap fraud working group of the SEC's Enforcement Division.